Retiring Numbers: who’s the Hornets’ Bruce Bowen?

Bruce Bowen announced his retirement last week, and there’s been some discussion about whether the Spurs should retire his number. He was a key player on three championship teams and always managed to frustrate opponents, but do career averages of 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds warrant his jersey being raised to the rafters?

That question got the TrueHoop Network thinking: who is the Bruce Bowen of each NBA franchise, a guy who was or is by no means a superstar, but might at least be considered for the honor of having his jersey retired?

For the Hornets, my pick would be Muggsy Bogues. Not only had he the longevity (693 games with the Hornets), but he was also one of the game’s best assist men and gave the franchise an identity through their first decade in the NBA. By all accounts he was a great teammate, and he did a lot for the community in Charlotte. And, of course, the dude remains the shortest player the NBA has ever seen at 5-3, making his entire pro basketball career the stuff of legend.

Muggsy’s career averages as a Hornet:

G

GS

PPG

APG

RPG

SPG

693

501

7.8

8.0

2.7

1.5

Which other Hornets players, past or present, deserve mention in this conversation?

Other posts on this theme from around the TrueHoop Network (added as I find them):